Holy Bull Likes View From Lead

The Kentucky Derby Favorite Has A History Of Going To The Front Early.

May 3, 1994|By Chris Lazzarino, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

LOUISVILLE, KY. — For a few scary seconds, owner/trainer Jimmy Croll forgot his dreams of a good trip for Holy Bull in Saturday's Kentucky Derby.

Instead, Croll and a crowd of onlookers huddling in Monday's early-morning chill on the Churchill Downs backside hoped only that Holy Bull and rider Bobby Perna would get past a sudden obstacle and avoid a horrible accident.

While galloping at full stride in his last major prep work for the Derby, favorite Holy Bull nearly blasted into an out-of-position pony that was hogging the fast lane along the backstretch rail.

Perna yelled loudly, and the pony's rider hustled to avoid disaster just as the long-striding gray colt blew past.

''If we had run over him, it would have been his fault,'' said Croll, 74. ''But at that point, it wouldn't have made a difference whose fault it was. That would have been that.''

The pony that nearly brought down the Derby favorite had been leading a Kentucky Derby long shot named Ulises, who had just broken off to start his workout.

Until the near-collision, Ulises was best known as the Panamanian speedster who figures to be Holy Bull's only challenge for the early lead in the 120th Run for the Roses.

Most Derby pacesetters earn nothing more than cocktail-party conversation for their owners. A serious attempt to lead the entire 1 1/4 miles of a Kentucky Derby is one the most daring feats in sports.

''It takes a darn good horse to go wire-to-wire here. There have been a few, but not many,'' said Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally.

Croll, a Hollywood, Fla., resident for more than 40 years, has always insisted Holy Bull doesn't need to be on the lead. That's simply how his races shape up, Croll says, including Holy Bull's stunning romp in Gulfstream Park's Florida Derby.

Asked whether Ulises was a concern, Croll replied, ''No, no, no. I'm pretty sure they want the front, and they can have it.''

Only 10 times this century has the Derby winner been worse than second at the top of the homestretch. The last winner who wasn't first or second turning for home was Decidedly in 1962, and he was third.

So it doesn't matter how far back a horse is early, so long as the horse conserves enough power to charge around the final turn. In the past 25 years, only Winning Colors (1988), Spend a Buck (1985), Bold Forbes (1976) and Riva Ridge (1972) have won the Derby wire-to-wire.

Holy Bull has more to overcome than the edgy prospect of leading with every step. He is moderately bred by a rather obscure Florida sire named Great Above. Holy Bull won the Florida Derby and Blue Grass with ease, but he has not battled another horse for the wire since he beat Patton by three-quarters of a length in Gulfstream's Hutcheson Stakes on Jan. 30.